Known as the WinRAR competitor, 7-Zip is one of the most famous file extraction and compression tools. It’s popular for its ingenuity, creativity, and simply-crafted UI for navigation.
Moreover, as a free tool, users don’t need to be concerned with monthly subscriptions or up-front payments. But is it really as good as people claim it to be?
That’s exactly what we want to find out today. So, let’s get started with the overview, and then I’ll let you know how my experience was with 7-Zip!
Basic Overview
Developed by Ukrainian freelance programmer Igor Pavlov, the software was first launched in the first month of 1999. Under the GNU Lesser General Public License, the software is protected and copyrighted to its rightful owner.
Here are the compatible formats that you can use with 7-Zip:
Both Packing & Unpacking
-
7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP, WIM
Unpacking Only
-
APFS, AR, ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DMG, EXT, FAT, GPT, HFS, IHEX, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, QCOW2, RAR, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, UEFI, VDI, VHD, VHDX, VMDK, XAR, Z
Apart from these formats' support, you can also create self-extracting archives with its proprietary 7z format. I don’t think there’s anything more to know about the overview.
So, let’s get started with the review!
Hands-on Review of 7-Zip
Initially, as a long-time WinRAR user, I was a bit skeptical about 7-Zip. Not only that but I also was very used to the interface of WinRAR to make the switch. So, to learn more I downloaded the latest version (the installer file size was less than 2 MB!)
Installation Process
I forgot the last time I was this happy to install a program even though my initial reservation about the software. The shift in my perspective completely changed when I installed the program in just 2 clicks!
It was as simple as possible without annoying me with tons of permissions and options. So, the first impression of 7-Zip is definitely off to a good start.
User Interface
Again, I was pleasantly surprised to see the interface of 7-Zip. While it’s not the same as WinRAR, it definitely has some similarities to it. The context menu is simple as well as the navigation.
There’s literally nothing more than what you’ll actually use daily. Obviously, if you go into the settings, then you’ll find a lot more to do with.
So far, I’m quite impressed with the whole installation and UI elements. Let’s see if that holds up for performance as well.
Performance
On the performance side, I just compressed the game folder of Apex Legends to understand the speeds. I’m using a Ryzen 5 5500 CPU and 1TB HDD which can handle a decent amount of compression and extraction.
I kept all the options default as most users won’t bother to change the settings as well.
Here’s what the situation looked like at the beginning. Definitely, the speed was not the best compared to other tools. However, the compression ratio was high enough for me to consider the slower speed (it even went up to 93%).
So, you’ll surely have to wait a bit for compression or archiving to finish but once it’s done, you can expect a lot of storage saved!
Overall, I must say I was genuinely impressed by the simple design, quick access, and good compression ratio. The only major drawback is the slower speed.
Concluding Remarks
So, what’s your thoughts on 7-Zip? Does it match your requirements well enough? If so, you can definitely download and use it for a while as it’s free software. No need to feel pressured and enjoy the full freedom of having a customizable compression tool.
We hope you got some insight on 7-Zip and will be able to make an informed decision!
